How Celebrities Are Celebrating Earth Day

Today is Earth Day, and celebrities are celebrating the holiday by sounding off about the environment in a big way.

Earth Day

Time Magazine reported that Earth Day dates back to 1970, when organizers in the United States launched it in the hopes of raising awareness to the environmental degradation that they felt that they were witnessing across the country. The holiday has been celebrated on April 22 every year since then, expanding to more than 190 countries who have added Earth Day to their calendar. 

Earth Day’s theme this year is Planet vs. Plastics, with the goal being to reduce plastic production by 60% by 2040. There are also calls for the full elimination of single use plastics by the end of the 2020s. 

“The word environment means what surrounds you. In the case of plastics we have become the product itself—it flows through our blood stream, adheres to our internal organs, and carries with it heavy metals known to cause cancer and disease,” said Kathleen Rogers, President of earthday.org.

“The Planet vs. Plastics campaign is a call to arms, a demand that we act now to end the scourge of plastics and safeguard the health of every living being upon our planet,” she added.

Celebrities Celebrate Earth Day

Celebrities have been taking to social media to celebrate Earth Day this year:

Related: Dolly Parton: Disrespecting Nature Is ‘Like Being Ugly to Your Mama’

Experts Speak Out On Earth Day

Dr. Virginia Burkett, chief scientist for Climate and Land Use Change at the U.S. Geological Survey, told ABC News before Earth Day that raising awareness of the mounting climate crisis is crucial right now.

“The global Earth observations community has characterized a triple planetary crisis of interconnecting stressors: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution,” Burkett said. “Collectively, the interconnected effects of human activity pose significant challenges for human security and sustainable development.”

“Climate impacts are affecting people’s lives right now,” added Costa Samaras, director of Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation. “Climate change makes things such as extreme heat and extreme storms worse, which can be dangerous to people, especially folks in vulnerable communities.”

Professor Erlinde Cornelis, leader of San Diego State’s Senate Sustainability Committee, made similar comments.

“The predominant way we currently consume, extract, exploit, produce and pollute will exacerbate the climate crisis,” Cornelis said. “The U.S. has all the climate science at its fingertips, some of the best scientists in the world that can inform policy. We know where we need to go, so there is no excuse for inaction.”

Related: Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Awarded For Their Population Control Efforts

Bad News For Earth Day Fans

Unfortunately for those celebrating Earth Day, however, a new Gallup poll released on Monday showed that Americans aren’t very concerned about the environment these days.

“Among the leading issues confronting the nation, the environment ranks as a lesser public concern, with 37 percent saying they worry a great deal about environmental quality,” Gallup reported.

The poll showed that Americans are most concerned about inflation, with 55 percent saying they worry a great deal about it. Crime and violence is a close second at 53 percent, with hunger and homelessness in third at 52 percent. Other issues that scored over 50 percent included the economy, healthcare, and federal spending and the budget deficit.

Given the many problems that America is facing right now, it’s no wonder that out of touch elites are some of the only people actually celebrating Earth Day today. In the end, the rest of us have much bigger things to worry about right now!